Three Lessons to Standing Firm
Lesson 1 – Trials are Good!
James 1:2-4 – “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
1 Peter 1:6-7 – “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Question: Why do Emotions overcome Faith?
Answer: Because emotions are easier than faith!
Psalm 119:50 – “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”
Oswald Chambers – “If you are going to be used by God, he will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all; they are meant to make you useful in his hands.”
Lesson 2 – Pursue a Teachable Spirit.
James 1:5-7 – “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
** Wisdom does not:
1. Take away the trial.
2. Make everything whole.
3. Change other people.
Point: We may not be able to explain, excuse or escape the Trial even when God gives us Wisdom.
** Wisdom DOES:
1. Provide a way forward.
2. Empower us to treat others as God would treat them.
3. Give direction for the next step.
Proverbs 8:35-36 – “For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
Lesson 3 – Remember... Attitude matters.
** All too often we allow the world to DEFINE who we are or how we should feel about ourselves.
** After commanding, “Consider it all joy...”, James highlights the first TRIAL the Jewish believers are facing: their lack of economic status in their new cities.
James 1:9-10 – “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.”
Point: Being rich or poor is not determined by your economic status but by your faith perspective.
James 1:12 – “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
Point: “Blessed” describes an inner joy that is rooted in God’s grace, unaffected by external events.
Dave Dravecky (When You Can’t Come Back) – “On the mountaintop we are overwhelmed by God's presence. In the wilderness we are overwhelmed by his absence. Both places should bring us to our knees; the one, in utter awe; the other, in utter dependence.
